Several years ago, we successfully grew shiitake mushrooms using oak logs. Ironwood is also used to grow these mushrooms, so 2 years ago I harvested several logs from our woods in March, and inoculated them. Sadly, after 2 years those logs have yet to fruit mushrooms. I have a couple of theories on this. The year we inoculated the logs turned out to coincide with a severe drought. Since mushrooms need moisture, my theory is that the year was too dry to support growth, and the spawn died. I also harvested the logs in March. The instructions said that was not a terrible time to harvest, but late fall and early winter are better.
Since we really enjoyed growing and harvesting mushrooms, we have decided to try again. We have plenty of Ironwood in the woods. Since the winter has been mild and I needed to cut some deadfall Ash trees up for firewood anyway, I sharpened the chainsaw and cut down a couple of Ironwood trees. I loaded the log sections up and hauled them to the woods near the house. We'll pick up some spawn at the upcoming Madison Garden Expo, and inoculate the logs in April. It will be a long wait, but hopefully we will get better results this time.
Comments